The Osbournes
From TeeVeePedia, the Internet TV Encyclopedia.
The Osbournes was a situation comedy which featured the lives of the fictional Osbourne family. The Osbournes originally ran on the DuMont Network between 1952 and 1986. The show was picked up by MTV when Dumont became Fox, and ran until its cancellation in 2005.
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Welk's Initial Show Pitch
In 1951 band leader Lawrence Welk approached DuMont Network executives with a revolutionary new idea. Welk proposed a one-hour show in which cameras would document the lives of Welk and his musical "family" (an idea that would eventually become The Lawrence Welk Show at a much later date). Realizing that early 1950s television didn't have a fraction of the resources needed to produce what would have been a proto-reality television show, the network did the next best thing. Telling Welk that they would "think about it", Dumont executives instead gave the idea to their own producers. The result was The Osbournes, which was essentially the same idea boiled down into a happy little half-hour sitcom.
Early Years: 1952-1966
The first few years of the show were described as "dull as white bread", which was exactly what 1950's viewers wanted. The plot told the story of the Osbourne family: the dull father figure Nelson (Desi Arnaz), the overly anxious mother Harriet (Lucille Ball), ambitious older brother Ricky (Rick Nelson), and talented but twisted younger brother Ozzy (Danny Bonaduce). Each week the family would pack up their instruments (which were similar to what one would see today on shows such as Dancing Polka Stars) and go from town to town performing their music. The influence of The Osbournes was very strong; to this day, the bright yellow colored tour bus portrayed on the show is copied in the design of school buses all across America.
By the late 1950s The Osbournes producers advanced the show's plot, firmly embracing the new era of rock-and-roll. Although the hits of young breakout star Rick Nelson are today remembered only by CBS viewers, they had a powerful impact in their time. Such future rock stars such as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Tony Orlando and Dawn, and even Randy Jackson have each credited The Osbournes with helping develop their artistic styles. The show's open tryouts for backup singers in Detroit is widely regarded as the unofficial founding of Motown Records. However, even as The Osbournes gained in popularity young Nelson began slipping off the edge. By the mid 1960s the show had devolved into a psychedelic haze. It soon became clear to DuMont executives that The Osbournes would have to change its format or risk declining ratings.
The Years Without A Plot: 1967-1980
Producers of The Osbournes radically changed the show in 1967. Realizing that drug-addled Rick Nelson could no longer follow a conventional script, they decided to essentially throw out the plot of the show. The two parents were written off the show and the character of "Ozzy" moved to England, making only rare appearances. Most episodes of The Osbournes now featured Ricky doing wacky, crazy, zany things while a fake laugh track played at seemingly random intervals in the background. While the show occasionally broke format and dealt with conventional themes (such as in the 1970 episode "Black Sabbath", which dealt with the death of Osbourne family patriarch Nelson), for the most part the show remained blissfully unaware of theme or logic. In 1979 The Osbournes went on temporary hiatus as Nelson underwent a rehab stint at The Faith Ford Clinic. While fans didn't yet know it, this would mark a major change in the show as well as its star.
Tragedy Strikes: 1980-1985
Fully recovered from his addictions, Rick Nelson demanded and received creative control of The Osbournes in 1980. With DuMont Network ratings in decline, there was little the network could do as Nelson instituted a series of changes on the show. Confusing plots and ridiculous story lines were replaced by Very Special Episodes warning viewers of the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. Ratings began to slide as critics blasted The Osbournes for stealing ideas from Webster. However, The Osbournes was still DuMont's top-rated show as Nelson still had a loyal audience of rabid fangirls.
Nelson also criss-crossed America with his message, flying from town to town in support of drug awareness. Tragically, in late 1985 Nelson lost his life when the plane he was flying in was accidentally shot down by Navy missiles developed mechanical problems and crashed in Texas. DuMont would have cancelled The Osbournes, but was too busy planning for its changeover to Fox. Uncertain of the show's future but realizing there was more to life than playing music videos, cable television network MTV picked up the rights to The Osbournes in 1986.
The "Hanson" Years: 1986-2002
With the death of Rick Nelson The Osbournes looked finished as a series. However, MTV executives came up with a brilliant idea. The show's producers hired Nelson's twin sons Gunnar Nelson and Matthew Nelson and resumed production in 1986. In the new format, the twin brothers formed a tribute band to their late father. The made-for-TV band, which producers dubbed "Hanson", would "tour" the "world" performing their "hits". Viewers, perhaps needing a little more irony in their television diet, went on to make the reformatted show a minor hit. The Osbournes MTV stardom seemingly reached its apex in 1991 when the show was placed right after Beavis and Butthead on the schedule.
With ratings declining by 1995, producers decided to milk one last season out of The Osbournes and hired Haley Joel Osmond to act as the Nelsons' heretofore unknown "little brother". Osmond, claiming to be inspired by the dead, wrote the childrens' song "MMMBop" for the show. In one of the most unlikely events in MTV history, the song became an anthem for TRL viewers, who voted it #1 an incredible 63 weeks in a row. Unfortunately for show producers, Osmond left The Osbournes in 1998 to star alongside Bruce Willis in Armageddon. Producers tried adding a series of "younger siblings" over the next few years, but none of them worked out very well.
Blizzard Of Ozz: 2002-2005
With The Osbournes ratings declining each season, producers axed the Nelson twins in 2002 and asked Danny Bonaduce to revive his "Ozzy Osbourne" character. The show now revolved around Ozzy and his quiet family, living a peaceful life in rural England. While the change in setting helped the show for a little while, by 2005 it was clear that The Osbournes had run its course. The show was officially cancelled in 2005 and replaced by Laguna Beach reruns. While The Osbournes is now television history, its 53-year run will probably never be topped by any other situation comedy.
